


Today is different

by Haibaka_luvs_nyaku



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: ADHD, Alternate Universe - Library, Books, Cute, F/F, Library, Love, M/M, Whipped Akaashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23253673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haibaka_luvs_nyaku/pseuds/Haibaka_luvs_nyaku
Summary: Bokuto is different and Akaashi notices it more than anyone.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 7
Kudos: 173





	Today is different

“Koutarou!”

Akaashi looked at the door where a couple entered, the girl’s hand on the man’s shoulder and another whine already coming out past her lips.

The man looked out of place, glancing around the library from a longer period of time than usual, with his grey sweatpants and way too tight white t-shirt hugging his biceps just fine. His grey hair had an unusual amount of gel on it, for sure, if by the way it was spiking up was any indication.

“Do we have to come here today, baby?”

The man nodded, looking far more excited and he shrugged her hand off, darting towards the end of the library where Akaashi knew the comic books were placed. He watched as the girl glared at him but followed regardless before deciding to mind his own business and plugging his earphones in his ears.

He couldn’t work with too many noises around him, so, even though the library wasn’t necessarily noisy, the small low chatter on the table beside him still annoyed him just a little bit. Instead, he turned the classical music up just a tad and tried to focus on his study Abnormal Psychology essay, eyes attempting to ignore his surroundings.

_Attempting._

It wasn’t even seconds later that his attention was once again drawn from his laptop onto the couple who had previously entered. This time, the man had an annoyed expression on his face, eyebrow furrowed as he headed for the cashier with three medium-sized books on his hand, the girl following close behind. Cautiously, he removed one of his earbuds and listened to their loud conversation – too loud for a library, anyways.

“Koutarou, these books are literally for like, kids,” she huffed, taking one of the books from his hands. “ _The curious incident of a dog_? Seriously?”

The man – Koutarou, blushed, his eyes looking around to see if anyone had head and thankfully, he missed Akaashi’s stare on them.

“Leave me alone, at least I read something,” he hissed back at her. He took the book back and turned to the old lady behind the counter, sending her an apologetic smile as he offered the books for check out.

The girl gasped in return, “I read!”

“Reading posts on Instagram isn’t reading.”

She gasped even louder, drawing a _shush_ from the girl sitting behind them and Akaashi had to hold back a laugh at the man’s remark. The lady checking out his books let out a slight giggle too and the girl threw a glare her way, obviously not going unnoticed by her boyfriend.

“Hey, stop doing that,” he frowned at her. Akaashi could tell that he was getting more and more annoyed as the seconds went by.

“She laughed at me!”

Koutarou tilted his head to the side, frowning even more, “how do you know that? For all you know, she could be playing games on her computer. Stop being rude.”

The girl rolled her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest and fixed him with a look that said, _really?_

She kept whining as the old lady asked the man about his information for the check-outs and the more they talked, the number of annoyed looks and sighs increased too, obviously directed at the couple.

“These are so fuckin’ childish, you’re twenty-one, not five!” This time, she was loud. Way louder than before and it was definitely something everyone on that floor could hear.

Akaashi half expected someone to go up to them and tell them off, maybe tell the girl to tone it down or leave but no one moved. Everyone seemed to notice how the man beside her went pale, tense and froze a little when going to retrieve his books. Heck, even the old lady was frowning now, her eyes downcast to avoid any more problems. Akaashi was half expecting the man to start crying or shout back at her, given the angry look on his face, maybe even glare and throw some petty comment back at her but instead, he looked at her with a hard look, hand gripping on his cotton bag with his books and he took something out of his pocket.

“Here,” he placed it in her hand. The girl looked down at her palm, seeing a small rectangular box and then back at him. “You can have it. I want to break up.”

No one inside the library moved and Akaashi looked around to see everyone doing the exact same as him; watching the scene in great amusement.

The girl seemed to be more shocked than everyone else though. Her eyes widened at the words and she glanced at the box on her hand, mouth opening and trying to say something.

“ _What?_ ”

“You heard me, Tina,” Koutarou said, voice remaining calm. “I want my house key and my hoodies back. All of them.”

And with that, he turned back to the old lady, asking where the bathroom was before heading the way she pointed, leaving a flushed and angry young lady standing in the middle of a crowded and now silent library.

The man had already disappeared into the bathroom when the girl stomped her way out of the library, phone already in hand and pressed up to her ear as she complained about her _stupid ex_ on her way out. Akaashi let out a breath, taking in what just happened and snorted, shaking his head.

He was about to turn back to his studies, already looking for the earphones which had both fallen onto his lap during the spectacle when the bathroom door opened and the man’s head peeked out, looking from side to side.

“She just left,” the woman closest to the bathroom said quietly. Koutarou looked at her with a relieved smile and nodded _thanks_ to her, walking out. He stopped for a second, his eyes looking around the tables for an empty spot until he reached Akaashi and his staring stopped.

Akaashi felt himself being stared down, cheeks flushing red, embarrassed by being caught staring and he cleared his throat, forcing himself to look at his laptop screen instead of the attractive grey-haired boy.

He slipped his earphones in but play any music and before he could do so, shaking the feeling of being watched, the man sat right in front of him. Akaashi looked at him, surprised that he was already being observed and hesitantly, offered him a small smile. He was grinned back at, the stranger’s mouth showing off his perfectly white teeth and he placed his bag on top of the table, taking one book out but hiding it from his view.

Deciding that the man was just slightly distracting but not enough to make him risk this essay, Akaashi returned to his work and demanded himself to get his shit together to finish the assignment.

Luckily, no more dramatic couples entered the library and no more exciting arguments were played out which allowed Akaashi to _finally_ finish the work he’s had since two weeks ago. He smiled in accomplishment, stretching out his arms over his head with a content expression and completely forgot of the other boy’s existence until he looked up and there he was, already staring at him again.

The man blushed when he noticed he wasn’t being subtle at all, “sorry!”

Akaashi held back a giggle.

“It’s okay,” he replied.

Koutarou cleared his throat, looking down at his book again after tilting his head to both sides, the sound of his neck cracking filling the quietness of the room. Akaashi noticed the not so comfortable position he was sitting in and winced to himself, knowing damn well how sore he usually got when he did the same thing.

“You know,” he started, pausing before continuing, asking himself if he really wanted to say anything. “You should put your book on the table and straighten your back… Your back’s going to hurt if you sit like that for too long…”

Koutarou blinked at him, looked back down at his book and stared at him once again, almost like as if he were processing the words. When he understood what was said to him, he looked somewhat embarrassed… maybe, ashamed?

“Ah,” was the response he got. “It’s… it’s fine.”

Akaashi raised an eyebrow at him. He was definitely going to feel that tomorrow, that position was not good for his back. However, it wasn’t really his business, Akaashi shouldn’t be meddling with a stranger’s affairs, so, after reading over his essay, checking for any spelling mistakes and other paragraphs to fix, he concluded that it was enough for one day.

He got up to pack his things, ignoring the look being thrown at him by the man sitting at his table and as he tried to pack everything inside his back, he glanced down at the book on the stranger’s hands, trying to figure out what he was reading. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make out what it was that the other was so engrossed by, but when he threw his bag onto his back and grabbed his phone, the man reading shifted his attention to the one now standing and Akaashi could slightly make out the cover of the book, smiling as he recognized the novel.

“Is that Rainbow Rowell?” He asked.

The man blinked once more, glancing down at the book and looking at the cover before yelped and closing the book shut. He threw the book inside his bag, hiding it from view again as his face turned red again. “No!” He yelped out, a little too loud.

Akaashi opened his mouth but closed it shut, taken aback by the reaction. “Sorry… erm, I just wanted to say I love her books.”

Koutarou’s face changed from embarrassed to curious and it was like talking to a cat. His ears perked up at Akaashi’s words, “you love her books?”

He sounded shy – _cute_ , he thought.

Akaashi smiled, “yeah. I’ve read nearly all of them. That one’s _Carry on_ , right?”

Koutarou nodded back.

“I read it awhile back when I was in high school,” he sent him a comforting smile.

The man took the book out of his bag once again, shyly peeking inside where he was reading and shrugged, “I’ve never read it before… or, uhm, any book.”

At this, Akaashi was surprised, “well, I’m sure you’ll like it, though. It’s an easy book to follow but very well written, in my opinion.”

Koutarou’s eyes brightened and he grinned, nodding, “thank you so much!”

Akaashi was slightly confused, not knowing why he was being thanked but he nodded anyway, smiling once more before making his way to the exit, waving at the old lady like he always did, eager to walk home and rest, maybe even forget about the handsome stranger who was shy and almost like a cute little kid.

Akaashi giggled at the thought and made his way to his home.




“Hi!”

Akaashi blinked at the man in front of him. It was the guy from the other day, the one who had broken up with his girlfriend on the spot, only this time, the latter wore a large smile on his face and a larger bag.

The fact that he was here again, twice in a week, at the library which Akaashi would study at every twice a week when he’s never seen him before was surprising. Even more surprising was the fact that he’d just greeted him like as if they were best buddies for life.

Yet, Akaashi couldn’t help but smile warmly, “hello,” and he sat down where he always did, ignoring the beaming human in front of him.

Akaashi got out his laptop, pulling his notebook after it and placed his phone on silent, ready to plug his earphones in and work at the sound of his classical playlist when the man broke the silence.

“I finished the book!” He exclaimed. The girl sitting beside them sent him a glare, sending him a silent message to shut up before turning back to her reading.

Akaashi smiled at the man, “did you enjoy it?”

He nodded eagerly. “I was happy they ended up together! Although, I didn’t entirely understand what happened to his powers… But it was so much to read, though!”

It was like every sentence he said ended with an exclamation mark and usually, Akaashi would be annoyed. He would often tell people who constantly sounding like puppies wagging their tails to fuck off and leave him alone, but he couldn’t send this stranger away, even if he sounded like the happiest puppy alive. Instead, he entertained him, filled him in on the things he didn’t quite grasp and when the man smiled, Akaashi couldn’t tell if it was because he finally understood what happened in the book or if it was because of another whole reason entirely.

And he did that for every book the latter read. The more they talked, the more Akaashi got to know him.

Soon, he already knew his full name (Bokuto Koutarou), his birthday (September 20), what his favourite colour was (Teal), what his favourite animal was (owls) and how he liked his coffee (with lots of sugar, even though he can’t actually drink that much sugar), amongst various other things (like his favourite everything –pyjamas, ice-cream, TV show, sport, etc) and Akaashi started visiting the library, not twice a week but every day of every week, except some weekends in which he had to fill in for his friend Tsukishima at the store he worked at. It was rare to see Akaashi in the library without Bokuto by his side now.

“’Kaashi,” the other whined, laying his head on the table, closing the book with a soft thud.

Akaashi looked away from his laptop, stopping his typing to look at the cute male in front of him, “yes, Bokuto-san?”

“I don’t want to read this anymore,” was all Bokuto whined out.

Akaashi glanced at the cover of the book and raised an eyebrow. “Why are you reading that?”

Bokuto looked up at him, confused and he pulled a face, “huh?”

“You’re reading Agatha Christie, why?”

The latter raised his head from the table, checking the front cover where it said the author’s name and he, with the same confused look, turned to Akaashi.

“I mean,” the younger of the two sighed, waving his hand around to try and come up with the words, a soft smile playing on his lips. “Agatha Christie, especially that one, is usually about mysteries and usually a mind-blowing twisted ending. I didn’t think you’d be into those sorts of books, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto’s eyes widened at his words. He glanced at the book again, an unfamiliar expression on his face, one that Akaashi hasn’t seen before and then he gives him a smile – a smile he hasn’t witnessed before.

“I didn’t notice,” he breathes, fiddling with the pages of the book where he focused his attention on. “How did _you_ notice?”

Akaashi blinked.

How _did_ he notice?

Usually, every time they were together at the library, it would either be Akaashi working on his assignments with Bokuto’s radiating energy in front of him or Bokuto beaming that he’d finished a book and then he’d tell all about it, making Akaashi pause his typing to listen to his explanation or maybe even contribute to it if he’s read the book before.

And, of course, Akaashi has a favourite genre and a favourite author but he, obviously, wasn’t going to recommend Stephen King for the owl-like male to read. Akaashi never even considered – Bokuto always borrowed novels about fantasy, comedy, sometimes romance and rarely, action. Never anything like P.D. James or Ruth Rendell.

“I…” He didn’t have an answer though. He didn’t even notice that he kept such a thing in his head. “I don’t know,” he answered truthfully with a small shrug. “I guess I just did.”

And when his eyes met Bokuto’s, he had to hold back the urge to hide away the blush that was creeping up his neck. There was a new shine to his golden eyes and, unlike all the times where he looked into his eyes and could tell what emotion and thoughts were going through the elder’s head, this time, Akaashi couldn’t figure out what this new one meant.




Today was a different day though. The two arrived at the same time. For the past seven months, one of them would show up slightly earlier than their usual unspoken time and claim their table (which really wasn’t theirs: once, during their summer break, they were both late and a group of teenagers had taken over the table).

But today, as Akaashi was approaching the entrance of the library, he spotted Bokuto exiting a black Mercedes right by the entrance. He watched as the muscled man laughed at whatever the person in the car had said and how he waved with a soft smile on his face. As Akaashi approached the door, Bokuto turned his attention to the shorter male and his smile widened, “hey, ‘Kaashi!”

Akaashi couldn’t hold the smile back, “good afternoon, Bokuto-san.”

“You don’t have to use the ‘san’ anymore, ‘Kaashi,” Bokuto pouted.

Akaashi let out a small laugh, a bit of pink shading his cheeks and he shrugged. He walked ahead of the other, entering the library first with Bokuto right behind him and the two waved _hello_ at Miss Fujioka by the counter.

They did the same as always, Akaashi setting up his laptop to work on a PowerPoint for a group English presentation and Bokuto sitting in front of him, a book ready in hand to start reading. The only difference from now and when they first met, was how Akaashi’s computer was placed on the table. At first, he had to look over his laptop to be able to look properly at Bokuto, whereas, now, he can easily meet his eyes and Bokuto can lean forwards to express his excitement or to show him something on the page he was reading. Most of the times, the latter would lean towards him for no reason at all, though, saying he was more comfortable that way and Akaashi didn’t question him. If he wanted to lean on his elbows as he read, close enough that Akaashi could simply take both cheeks in his hands if he wanted to, then so be it. Who was he to stop the other from being the absolute cutest?

However, today was a different day.

Today, Bokuto only stayed focused for a total of thirty-three minutes (wild guess, Akaashi didn’t count, of course) before he slumped over the table, obtaining a _shush_ from an old woman across from them. Bokuto squeaked out a _sorry!_ and proceeded to whine in silent. At one point, when he threw his whole body on top of the wooden table, one of his warm large hands had fallen on top of Akaashi’s bare forearm and just like every other time their skins ever came in contact with each other, Akaashi felt the heat rise up to his cheeks.

“What’s wrong, Bokuto-san?” He finally asked, finishing his sentence before giving him his undivided attention.

Bokuto glanced at Akaashi for a few seconds, only for his pout to grow and his eyes to return to the table.

“My psychologist says I should try to read more books if it helps but I’ve read a lot of books and now I can’t find any that I like.” He said it all in one go, sighing heavily after letting it all out.

He didn’t seem to notice the way Akaashi froze when the word _psychologist_ escaped his mouth, so, Akaashi immediately gulped his shock down and tried to find something to say, “uhm… I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

Bokuto looked at him again and sat up straight, showing him the front of his book. Ah, _he was reading Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto_ , and with that only, Akaashi knew why he had more trouble focusing on that book more than others.

Without saying a word, Akaashi stood up and Bokuto watched him disappear towards the end of the library, in between bookshelves. Not long after, maybe even less than two minutes, Akaashi made his way to their table, holding two new books. He sat in front of Bokuto, placing the two books in front of him and took the one he had on his hands, “I can’t speak for you entirely, Bokuto-san, but Banana Yoshimoto is something I don’t think you’d be very fond of.”

Bokuto watched him in wonder, following the movements of his fingers.

“I read these last year, during Christmas, I think you’d like these –”

Like it was mentioned before, today was a different day.

Which is why, instead of grinning and shouting _thanks, ‘Kaashi_ , already waiting to be scolding by the person closest to them, today, Bokuto decided to do what he’s been wanting to for a while now.

So, he did it.

He grabbed the front of Akaashi’s black t-shirt and pulled him forwards. He wasn’t thoughtless enough to just slam their mouths together, God, no. He knew from experience that that usually hurt like hell. Rather, he paused just centimetres away from Akaashi’s soft looking lips, golden eyes glancing down at his mouth, completely ignoring the way his eyes widened before inching forward, slotting their lips together softly.

Again, if it were any other day, Akaashi would’ve felt awkward, maybe a little uncomfortable.

But it wasn’t any other day, and this wasn’t just anyone.

That is why, today, Akaashi ignored all the voices in his head telling him to freak out and freeze and he moved on his own, doing what he wanted. He let his eyes close, exhaling through his nose as he pushed himself towards Bokuto more, hands on the table safely, feeling Bokuto’s other hand on the back of his neck, his thumb caressing the end of his jaw.

Normally, Akaashi hated being noticed by people and he hated having any sort of attention on him, exclusively. But today, even though he knew that the old woman from across from them was more than likely watching the two do something they’ve never done before, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He had Bokuto’s lips on his, _for fuck’s sakes._

The barely moved their lips, just slowly enjoying the pressure on each other’s mouths until Bokuto pulled away first. Akaashi opened his eyes first, heart almost beating right through his ribcage as he saw Bokuto’s eyes still closed, lips still slightly parted and puckered, almost like as if he were in shock. The large hand holding onto him released its hold though and Akaashi took this as a cue to sit down and take a deep breath, maybe attempt to control his stray heart. He let himself sit back against the chair he learned to love over the past few months, and he waited.

For what? He didn’t know exactly.

“’Kaashi?”

Akaashi snapped his look to him faster than he’s ever done. He felt slightly better knowing that he wasn’t the only one affected by this as much as he thought. Bokuto kept licking over his lips, his eyes just as wide as his as he sat against the cushioned chair.

Nonetheless, he cleared his throat before speaking, hoping to less just a little less breathless, “yes, Bokuto-san?”

Bokuto was quiet for a while, just staring at Akaashi with a blush as evident as his before he spoke again.

“I really, _really_ like you. Would you be my boyfriend?”

And honestly, Akaashi should _not_ be feeling as happy as a baby who just got some candy. He definitely shouldn’t be blushing even harder now than he was when they were kissing. But he was and he _definitely_ was even redder than before.

He opened his mouth to say fuck _yes,_ nothing came out. He forced himself to clear his throat again, gulping the lump that had formed there without his consent and he nodded, “yes. _Yes,_ Jesus, yes, of course.”

“Yeah?”

Akaashi nodded one more time, feeling laughter bubble up his throat and Bokuto jumped on his seat, pumping his fists up like as if he had just won a grand prize. Just as Bokuto was about to say something – probably at a much high volume than it was allowed, Miss Fujioka stood up from her seat, her stern look fixed on the two and even though she had a smile on her lips, her expression still looked murderous, “Bokuto-san, please, be quiet.”

Bokuto quickly swallowed his words, nodding at her in fear before gesturing that he was zipping his lips shut. She gave them another smile and sat down, minding her business once more.

“You really mean that?” Bokuto whispered to Akaashi, eyes shining like the sun and body vibrating in happiness.

Akaashi nodded, biting his bottom lip, “yeah,” he whispered back.

It seemed impossible but, Bokuto’s grin widened more than ever and Akaashi was taken by surprise when the latter stood up, pushing his chair back loudly and ignoring another fearful look from Miss Fujioka.

“Let’s go,” was all he said, offering his hand for Akaashi to take.

Akaashi stood up too, slightly confused but started packing his things, regardless, “uhm, where are we going?”

Bokuto leaned on the table, “we’re going on a date, hurry _up,_ Akaashi.”

Akaashi looked at him, dumbfounded but he let his smile take over anyways and laughed, “alright.”


End file.
